FilmTouch is a video effects plugin for Windows, including Windows 10. Sorry, we have no Mac versions currently, but may soon!Click here to be email-notified

FilmTouch (PowerDirector version): Tutorials & Tips

In CyberLink PowerDirector (version 12 or later):

1. In the FX (Effects Room) tab of PowerDirector, choose Pixelan, then drag-and-drop FilmTouch 2.0 (or FilmTouch 2 Pro, if you have that) onto a clip in the PowerDirector timeline (or onto the Fx track).

2. Click the Effect button above the PowerDirector timeline (if the FilmTouch effect is applied on a clip) or click the Modify button (if the FilmTouch effect is in the Fx track).

3. Click the Stand-alone Effect button to open the FilmTouch main window, as shown below for FilmTouch Pro. See the easy steps described in the left side of the illustration. The window for the regular version of FilmTouch is similar but only has three controls.

FilmTouch Presets

Effects Browser presets

This is the most powerful and visual way to access presets and is where HUNDREDS of film look effects presets are located. (There are 200+ presets in FilmTouch 2.0, or 500+ in the Pro version.) Click the Click here to load a preset... button at the top of FilmTouch 2.0 to open a large Effects Browser window to visually choose/compare pre-made effects. The Effects Browser is shown below. To save your own custom presets in the Effects Browser, use FilmTouch controls to set up a desired look, then click the Save button (disk icon) at the top of the main FilmTouch window.

Time-saving tips to load presets faster:The Effects Browser is fast, but sometimes you may already know which preset you want to use, such as when you are applying the same preset repeatedly in a project. In that situation, selecting a preset by one of the following methods can be faster... To see recently chosen Effects Browser presets, click the Recent button. For a drop-down menu of Effects Browser presets, right-click the Click here to load a preset... button. To use a standard Open file dialog box,Alt-click the Click here to load a preset... button.

Handy tips while working within the Effects Browser:• To scroll through presets in a folder while keeping your eye on the top preview image for comparison, hold the mouse pointer over the right panel then use arrow keys or the mouse wheel.• To increase/decrease the thumbnail image size, use the Size button at the bottom of the Effects Browser.• To copy a favorite preset into the My Favorites folder located atop the left column of preset folders, right-click any preset image and choose Copy to My Favorites. To copy the preset into a subfolder within that folder (such as if you want to organize presets per project or per client), right-click the preset and choose Copy to My Favorites >> [new subfolder]. You can then name the subfolder as desired. After the subfolder is created, it will also appear in the right-click menu.• To rename a preset that is in the My Favorites folder, right-click the preset there and choose Rename this preset. To remove a My Favorites preset, right-click and choose Delete this preset.• To hide any preset, right-click the preset and choose Hide this preset. To show all hidden presets in a folder, right-click any preset in that folder and choose Restore all hidden presets from this folder. To temporarily view the folder's hidden presets, which can be handy if you just want to momentarily browse them, choose Temporarily show hidden presets.• To toggle between viewing the source file image and the FilmTouch preset, click the top large preview image in the Effects Browser.

Section presets (FilmTouch Pro only)

Unlike the Effect Browser presets, these change ONLY the controls in ONE section of FilmTouch Pro. Mixing presets from several sections is a quick and easy way to try hundreds of fresh film look effects and variations. To browse through section presets, click the blue FX folder icon at the top right side of any section. Scrolling your mouse through the choices will update the built-in preview instantly. Cool!

Detailed Help on Each FilmTouch 2.0 Control

Note: The FilmTouch 2.0 'regular' version has Mid Contrast, Gamma, and Mix with Original controls only -- the three most useful ways to tweak existing film look presets. All of the controls below are in the Pro version.

IMPORTANT: As noted in the above section, to quickly try common settings in any section of FilmTouch 2.0 Pro, use the Section Presets menu at any section's top.

Basics

Adjust midtone contrast, brightness, or saturation -- the most common overall ways to fine-tune a film look.

Mid Contrast. Positive values increase the contrast in midtone areas. Negative values decrease. Gamma. Positive values increase the proportion of brighter areas to darker areas. Negative values decrease.Saturation. Positive values increase the intensity of colors. Negative values decrease.Apply Saturation... Sets when the above saturation adjustment applies. After... is handy to easily saturate or desaturate the look no matter what other color adjustments occur below.Split Preview. Easily compare the effect to your source clip’s original look. IMPORTANT: Be sure to turn this off before rendering to not include the split in your video.

Preserve in Source

All pixels with... To define the Target area where the source clip's look will be preserved, select from Target’s color, Target’s luminance only, Target’s hue only, or Target’s hue & saturation only.Target. In the preview, click the eyedropper on the color area to keep it unchanged. Or use the color swatch to choose a color or luminance. For example, to preserve the white in a source clip’s clouds, click the Target eyedropper in the cloud and select Target’s luminance only. To preserve skin tones, click in the skin and choose Target’s color.Range. Positive values preserve additional hue/luminance areas that are similar to the Target. Negative values reduce the range.Falloff. Positive values increase the feathering around preserved colors. Negative values decrease.Invert. Switch preserved and adjustable image areas. Handy when clicking an adjustable color is easier than clicking a color to preserve.View the Mask. Turn on to clearly see the preserved region’s mask.

RGB Low/Mid/High

Fine-tune a film look by adjusting shadows, midtones, or highlights per color channel. Easily tint only shadows towards a desired color, for example.

Low R/G/B. Fine-tune shadows by brightening or darkening the red/green/blue channel.Mid R/G/B. Fine-tune midtones by brightening or darkening the red/green/blue channel.High R/G/B. Fine-tune highlights by brightening or darkening the red/green/blue channel.Pin Black/White. On protects pure black or white areas from adjustments in this section.

RGB Gain/Offset/Gamma

Fine-tune the film look by adjusting the strength and brightness of a color channel.

Diffusion

Optionally add realistic light diffusion to a film look.

Blur. Sets the blur strength.Blend Mode. To fine-tune the blur, choose a Photoshop-like blend mode.Blend Opacity. Set the opacity of the blend mode above. 100% is pure blending, 200% is pure blur. For unusual looks, enter values outside the 0-200% range.Dark/Light Bias. Increase to shift the diffusion into darker areas.Range. Increase to spread the diffusion effect. 100% is uniform diffusion over the entire scene.Glow. Optionally add a glow to enhance the diffusion realism.Glow Size. Increase to spread the glow further into darker areas.Glow Color. In the preview, click the eyedropper to choose a glow color from your scene. Or use the color swatch to choose a glow color.

Vignette

Optionally add a realistic lens vignette to a film look.

Strength. Set how strongly the vignette conforms to the current shape.Shape. Choose a shape from several options. Inverted choices brighten instead of darken the vignette.Softness. Set the shape's edge softness.Size. Set the shape's size.Center. Position the shape within the image by dragging the center point. If Linear is selected, you can adjust its angle by moving the center point. For more precision, enter numerical values, such as to match the shape in two different dissolves.Style. Choose the vignette’s style, from standard to unique looks. Standard is a 'real world' lens vignette. Standard 2 is similar but treat colors in the vignette area differently. Color only vignettes only color adjustments (the RGB sections). Diffusion only vignettes only the diffusion section. Color and Diffusion vignettes just the Basics and RGB sections.

FilmTouch 2.0 Preferences Settings

You can customize FilmTouch 2.0 significantly to your video editing system's power and
your working style. At right are the default preferences settings, which you can access by clicking the Preferences button at the top of the FilmTouch main window ("E" in the Easy Steps image at the top of this page). Three options in particular may be handy for you to change (shown at right with an adjacent red triangle):

If you have very fast video editing hardware, consider turning off Drop frames to maintain preview pacing.

If you also have a high-resolution monitor and are editing with HD or larger footage, consider turning ON Use largest available preview which will use the largest preview size in FilmTouch that can fit in your monitor while still leaving sufficient room for FilmTouch's controls. Note that your choice for this setting will appear the next time you open FilmTouch's window.

After you become more familiar with FilmTouch 2.0, consider turning off Show pop-up text and help text. That will leave more vertical space for the section controls and also reduce any distraction from the ever-changing help text.